Senegal: Water Shortage? There is an app for that!

The city of Dakar, Senegal, has been devoid of water for the past two weeks, after a pipe has burst.

While the government has been busy trying to fix the issue, the vast majority of homes in the Senegalese capital currently survive on reserves. While helpless people did not know which way to turn, solutions have appeared on the Internet, trying to use the Internet to diminish the pain of the citizens.

One which has especially caught our attention is called sEAUlidaire (A play between the word Water – Eau in french, and Solidarity – Solidaire in french) which was developed by senegalese social media agency 3W, proposes to use Facebookto link users with water to those who need it.

Users indicate if they wish to give or receive water. Once registered, those in need can ask for help directly to users who wish to share their water and vice versa.

In case of request for assistance to a user with water, it receives a Facebook notification stating that a person asks for help. If accepted, the user can give the coordinates for a direct linkage.

Another example of the positive usage that can be done of social networks in Africa.